Saturday's 36-3 stomping of Syracuse was the kind of win bound to make UCF-homers furious. The day was for them, with GameDay in the bounce house and giving full play to the story lines as pretend as their claim to a national championship. Earlier in the week, their quarterback took to the 1's and 0's to pop off about his team being every bit better than Ian Book's. When the night ended, and crows covered Cincinnati's corpse, UCF had its statement win over a top twenty-five team.
Except ...

Between damn near every team in college football trying to take a week off with a terrible matchup and Notre Dame/Syracuse trying to blind us all with poor uniform choices, week 12 will likely not be a treat for the eyes.
However, college football is college football and we will miss it dearly when it is gone. And so we press on, eager for another Saturday and another NCAA Sim which may also make you blind. ...

Each week in this space, we examine two things: Notre Dame's strength of schedule (from USA Today's Sagarin rankings), and who Irish opponents are facing. For those of who want to scout future opponents, I'll give you my recommendation for who to watch when you're not watching Notre Dame Football. ...

This weekend, I will kneeling at the altar of GAMBLOR in Las Vegas. I can think of no better way to prepare than with another round of picks with Eddie. Sure, the national slate for this week is meh, but when you are a degenerate, there are no weeks off.
Don't forget to join in on the fun by filling out the form at the bottom of the post or by visiting herloyalsons.com/pickem. ...

Twenty-five years on from the Game of the Century, Brian Kelly's Fighting Irish rolled to a 42-13 victory over a Florida State Seminoles team with more problems than a trailer park in hurricane season. Gone were the bulky pads and dark blue uniforms of yore. In their place were Field Turf, a Jumbo Tron, and twenty thousand extra fans housed within a new stadium edifice.
Despite the years, the games shared a meaningful connection. Both were won by a starting backup quarterback. In 1993, ...

Week 11 was a week of chalk around college football, but there's still lots to cover as the conference and playoff pictures continue to come into focus.
Of course, we also talk a lot of Notre Dame crushing Florida Sate as we wonder if we can can put the "green jersey curse" to rest and...should we start talking more about comparisons to Clemson rather than Michigan? ...

The Irish are now #3 in the nation, controlling their own playoff destiny. With week 11 bringing interesting, yet not-quite-overly-epic matchups, the Notre Dame hosts hapless Florida State in the blistering cold on Senior Day.
As we do every week, we use the most accurate preview method in all of college football, NCAA '14, to sim this home finale.
Senior day. Snow. Green jerseys. Brandon Wimbush.
What could possibly go wrong? ...

Each week in this space, we examine two things: Notre Dame's strength of schedule (from USA Today's Sagarin rankings), and who Irish opponents are facing. For those of who want to scout future opponents, I'll give you my recommendation for who to watch when you're not watching Notre Dame Football. ...

The end is near. Well, at least the home season for the Irish is.
Week 11 is full of loads of interesting games that could shake up the playoff and conference championship picture. Eddie and I do our level best to find the best twelve to pick as November rolls on.
Don't forget to head over to herloyalsons.com/pickem or use the form at the bottom of this post to come join in on the fun! ...

With week 10 now in the books, the majority of the playoff picture is coming into focus. Unless you are in the Pac 12 or Big 12, in which case, things are still insane.
Speaking of, anyone want to win the Pac 12 South? How about the ACC Coastal?
Meanwhile, Notre Dame, even after a terrible Navy-hangover of a first half, dispatches Northwestern by seven more points than some other school up north while never trailing.
It was a big week of football and there's lot to talk about. Come join ...